Tongues Of Fire

 Tongues Of Fire

And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.  (Acts 2:3)

My youngest brother, Eli (there are three of us of which I am the oldest), enjoys Bible study as much as, if not more than, I do. He has a gift of looking deeper into Scripture than your average Bible reader, and he is always eager to share his insights with me. It makes for wonderful and enlightening conversations.

Read More ... https://erniecarrasco.com/2020/09/13/tongues-of-fire/

Impossible | Ernie's Musings

Impossible | Ernie's Musings

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened … If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; (Hebrews 6:4-6)

The fifth point of Calvinism is the “Perseverance of the Saints,” otherwise known as the principle of “once saved, always saved.”  This idea is certainly not without controversy.  There are many who believe rightly enough that we are saved “by grace through faith” and “not of works lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9), but they maintain that one must “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12) and “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1) lest “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:4).  They would also point out (and not without reason) that the idea of “once saved, always saved” is a license to continue in a sinful lifestyle.  After all, once one has secured one’s permanent “fire insurance,” what is to keep one from sinning?

Read more ... https://erniecarrasco.com/2020/09/06/impossible/

National Revival | Ernie's Musings

National Revival | Ernie's Musings

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

This oft-repeated verse offers a tenuous hope for American Evangelicals that, if we only put its tenets into practice, God will keep His end of the deal and heal the trouble in our land. However, as I have asserted in the past[1], this verse is taken out of context and misapplied. If Israel’s history can teach us anything, it is that God has His limits when He will no longer hear the pleas for a nation.[2]

Recent history teaches us that, in regard to God, Americans are a fickle people.

Read more... https://erniecarrasco.com/2020/08/30/national-revival/